Mormon Artist Interview

Spencer Johnson,

I thought it was awesome that you were able to interview the founder of "They Might Be Elders". I had heard of them before, and it was really cool to hear the artist's perspective and what he hopes to be doing with his music. I absolutely loved his comments on how we don't need foul references in a song, and how if the music is good, the song will be good. I agree that in some cases the music is fantastic, and all that the lyrics do is degrade that. That was a great and insightful interview, thank you for sharing it with us.

Useful Critique

I'm not sure that I can add a lot to the reading today. I really feel that the lesson she taught is so important, and it is something that I have known is important, but haven't realized how much I need until I read the article. I've worked in writing groups before and I've really struggled with how to get valuable critiques. The author of our reading captured the struggles of reviews so well. Our creations are so valuable to us that it seems no matter how hard I try I cannot emotionally remove myself from the comments that are given to my work. Yet that is something I really need to straighten out, because to be an artist you have to share. You have to let other people in and there will always be those who don't like it. More importantly, though, are those who do, but can still see its shortcomings and I think that is the most important lesson I learned.

She really helped me see what is required in a good reviewer of your work. First off, they have to love you. If they don't care about you, they they will either a) tell you what you want to hear because they don't really care what happens to you, or b) they will tell you what they want to say regardless of how it makes you feel. However, someone who really cares about you will want to be honest and yet help you succeed at the same time. I really liked that she said to stay away from all other types, especially the destructive ones who take pleasure in your failures. Secondly, you have to admire this person's taste. In other words, you both have to be into the same kind of things, or at least you must like what they like, because otherwise they will critique your work, but not really care or know how to improve it. It's not their fault and they will try and be helpful if they care about you, but they won't be able to because the decisions they tell you to make will not be right for your work. These two qualities are a must!

This article really opened my eyes to the importance of review, but even more importantly to the importance of the reviewer. As a hopeful writer I plan on searching until I find someone who possesses these qualities, someone who can invest in both my work and me as a writer, and hopefully I can help them in return. It helped me get even more excited to write.

Review on Mormon Artist Interview

So first off, great job too everyone. It was fun to see different perspectives into what it means to be a Mormon Artist. Now to the two interviews that I am supposed to review:

Nephi,

So it was fun to see that you also chose to interview an animator. It was interesting to me to contrast the animation student with my own interview of an animation professor. I really liked how your interview touched on understanding the way people understand and accept art and how that understanding is vital to produce appropriate art. A large part of the art we create, at the very least much of the meaning that can be drawn from it, is unintentional and so it was really cool to see that he understood that and was going to create what he felt he needed to regardless. It's really interesting to think that being a Mormon Artist requires us to be bold in our desire to share what we can create, even though it might offend someone who interacts with it. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Rhonda,

I really enjoyed the interview of a child. I hadn't even thought about how a child views himself or herself as an artist. Like all things childlike, it felt very pure and very right. I really liked his focus on the idea that he believed he was good at art, and sculpting in particular, because God wanted him to be and so he had a purpose to use that talent correctly. That just really struck out to me and I realized that I also need to use the talents God has given me for his purposes. Thanks!

Mormon Artist Interview Review

Sophia Borich,

I think you did an excellent job with your Mormon artist interview. Not only was the type of artist that you chose interesting and unique, but the artist herself was quite the character. I loved how you could hear how passionate she was about her work in her voice. We didn't need to see her on film to hear how she felt about her art. She was very original and intriguing. Also, from the pictures I can tell that she is very talented. Her personality is the perfect type to interview. Not only is she spunky and fun, but she is also very serious about her work and you can tell that she is just in love with her art, the way an artist should be. She seems to embrace the diversity of her art work. I love how connected she is to her work since her canvas as she said, is a living, breathing, human. She really seemed connected to the spirit as well. The simplest example is her awe and appreciation for the human body. I really enjoyed your interview and I think that the Mormon artist that you chose is a wonderful example of a Mormon who is also a powerful and talented artist.

Media Artist Interview - Spencer Humphry

Interviewed Disney Animator

I enjoyed the collection of artwork you were able to use, showing some of the films she has helped animate. The questions were thoughtful, and she had some interesting insights on being an LDS animator. I liked the sentiment that the animation industry needs more LDS artists. We really do have a lot to bring to the table, and our values are much needed in the world today.

Screenplays

I find both of these screenplays interesting. I found the Untitled screenplay a bit disorienting at certain places but after reading through to the end, most of the unclear passages begin to make sense. I'm not entirely sure if I am interpreting either of these stories in the same way the writers intended, but here are a few of my thoughts:

The first thought that came to my mind when trying to make connections with Grace's hair was the passage in the New Testament when Christ talks about forsaking sin when he tells us to figuratively cut off our hand if it offends us; for it is better that the hand is severed than that the body be destroyed by the hand. Throughout the story, Grace grapples with her struggle of cutting her hair off. She knows she needs to because it is causing her harm, but it is hard to let go of some things in life. It's not until she nearly dies that she has the courage to do what needs to be done.

I found it interesting that the hair had a will of it's own (I wonder how long this hair is? It would be interesting to see it played out on screen). There seems to be an internal struggle of discernment in Grace's character. When she is in her room she is about to cut off her hair, but then the hair "lovingly wraps around her fingers and snuggles up against her head." At this point she decides not to cut her hair. It seems events like this happen to many of us. We know we need to change or do something through inspiration, and moments later, Satan comes and proposes an alternative. His subtle tactics are convincing and difficult to discern from God's answers at times. I enjoyed this theme that was threaded throughout the script.

There was also some nice imagery of Grace walking into the wind while everyone else tried to find shelter from it. Clearly, Grace, like all of us, needed to fix some things in her life. An interesting thing I though about was the possibility of how Latter-day Saints view one another. There are a couple scenes that may suggest that Grace loses hope as she sees the good people around her. First, in this scene when she is walking against the wind as well as in the classroom; Grace struggles with her modeling as students around her seem like they are doing a perfect job. Many members of the Church negatively compare themselves to other members whom they think are more righteous then they are. Because we are a people striving for perfection, it is a natural inclination for us to focus on our weaknesses and perhaps see a misguided perfection in others, when in all reality, all members of the Church struggle in some way or another.

The screenplay about Mr. Bellpond reminded me of an independent film I recently saw called "The Ghost of Dicken's Past". The story is about how Charles Dickens's painful and suffering experiences in creating his famous story, "A Christmas Carol." In a similar way, Mr. Bellpond needed to learn the principle that in order to contribute goodness to the world, you first need to live a good life -- meaning God and family comes first. That is a lesson I think all Mormon artists should really think about. We cannot put forth quality material unless we qualify for the spirit in our lives through righteousness. If we put work or anything else above priorities of God and family, then life becomes a tragedy as it did for Mr. Bellpond; after his wife was missing, he stopped his career, he became a hermit inside his home, and wasn't able to enjoy life and move on.

I really like the ending of this script. I love that we don't have the complete resolution of the story, and because of that, Mr. Bellpond must take a leap of faith and move forward in hope believing that will see his wife. Faith and hope are key players in this story. The process of Mr. Bellpond receiving letters from an anonymous source that inspired him to work and exercise his faith reminded me of something that the Bible Dictionary states: "Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith." Even though the anonymous writer was kind of a jerk, he offered an outlet that provided Mr. Bellpond some "kindling" to get his faith moving in the right direction. Some people can't be expected to make giant leaps of faith without some prior kindling experiences to build them up beforehand. It could have been easy for the wife to write something on the blank paper or to have written more details about her life and things like that, but Mr. Bellpond needed to discover these things for himself so he could grow.

Again, I could be completely off in the way I interpreted some of these stories but I enjoyed both of them a lot.

screenplays from our friends

I think that A. Todd’s screenplay shows us how important hope is. Even in desperate times, hope must always be prevalent in order for humans to survive emotionally. There has to be something to look forward to. A way he held on to his hopes was with the arm of the gramophone. Hope is a key point in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all must have it if we are to progress. Todd uses a very effective imagery of the man standing at the edge of a sea dock, packed for a journey. He is finally getting up and doing something. He wouldn’t have before, but he has been inspired, and is now in search of the truth.

Chloe’s screenplay seems like a take on personal imperfections. People aren’t perfect. They often have little quirks or things about them that make them self-conscious or make them feel stupid and guilty. Lewis sees her in her struggle and offers his hand to help. This is as Christlike as it gets. He lets go of his fear and initial impressions very quickly and still treats Grace like a human being. It seems obvious, but that can really be hard sometimes. In the end, her hair is truly beautiful and enlightening (get it?). She writes that Grace floats up, looks skyward, smiles and the image fades to white. This is a very clear way to represent virtue and peace. After this girl takes care of her issues on earth, she is free. This was all about seeing past peoples faults, and I relate to that very well, hoping others can do the same for me and deciding to make the attempt to do that for others. I don’t know much about artistic techniques yet, though I do feel that it was very well written, and its theme is very obvious.